The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-11-19
Carrier Pigeons.

-
In the street use carrier pigeons to
bring them messages to their country
homes" said Alfred de Corva to a
reporter the other day. 1'll tell you
how 1 trained my birds to bring the
stock quotations to my country place,
Cheetolah. two miles from the sta
ton at North Branch. N. ]. About
three years ago bought four pair o.
'squeelers.' or SQUADS took them
down to the country and made them
a comfortable coop. The birds were
kept confined, but we'll fed and look
ed after for three weeks, when the
window of their home was opened
for them In order that they might go
In and out at pleasure.
The first thing they did was to go
to the window. and look out; next
they would hop about until they
were foot from the room. They
reconnoitered and carefully observed
everything, and then they went in
again. In few minutes they would
come out again, and, / could clearly
see, with greater assurance. They
few on the roof. picked themselves,
and played around till night time,
when they went back, each to the
identical place where it had been ac-
customed to roost.
After several days. as soon as the
birds were certain that they would
not be molested. they commenced to
take observations of my place, and,
having thoroughly satisfied them.
selves that they were at home, they
few around in larger circles for a
mile or two.
The next step was to take them on
short trips, would put the pigeons
in q large basket with the lid down,
take them half mile from their coop
and lberBte them. They would fly
straight up into the air, circle around
and then point right for home. The
next fly of the birds would be about
a mile, then two miles, four miles,
ten miles, and fifteen miles, I train
ed them by stages until they flew
twenty. thirty, fifty, seventy.fiye.
and one hundred and twenty-five
miles.
After that 1 found no training was
necessary, If bird does not get
lost while undergoing this schooling
1t is just as apt to fly five hundred
miles without being lost. I finally
brought my reliable birds to my of.
fee in New York and sent them back
to my farm In North Branch. The
distance is some forty-three miles.
but they arrived safe and sound,
Since then 1 have frequently re-
NAMED at the farm and sent my
birds to the Office by the porter OF
the train, and duridg the day my
clerk sent bird after bird back to me
with hslf.hourly quotations attached
to its tail. The time the birds take
to deliver their messages from Wall
street to Cheetolah is from fifty min
utes to one hour and twenty minutes.
Before had the birds l found that a
telegram from New York would take
two hours time to reach me, and
longer il the operators were just at
their lunch or engaged in a Irritation.
"My pigeon lofts are divided into
3he breeding and the working sec.
tfon. / have attached an electric
wire from my working loft to my
house. So the moment bird comes
home from We'll street and tries to
get in at the window of the cot it
rings an electric bell in the house and
I 60 over and get the message.
II have had some queer experien-
ces with carrier pigeons. Their ways
are as hard to predict as the weather.
Birds that have repeatedly flown
from $50 to $50 miles have failed to
return home in practice flies of fifty
or sixty miles. l have known birds
to be as long as month from home
and then suddenly turn up as serene
ly as though there had been nothing
unusual about their trip."-Ne,D York
SuT.
------------------